


Anchor

by HarleyJQuin



Series: Sterek Bingo 2020 [9]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Stiles Stilinski, Evil Deaton, M/M, Sterek Bingo, Sterek Bingo 2020, Werewolf Stiles Stilinski, sbdefense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:48:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24231622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarleyJQuin/pseuds/HarleyJQuin
Summary: Stiles is facing his biggest battle. Time to out trick a trickster.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Sterek Bingo 2020 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727686
Comments: 32
Kudos: 510





	Anchor

**Author's Note:**

> Sterek Bingo 2020  
> Square: Self Defense

Stiles, Kira, and Scott pull into the animal clinic car park as three Oni materialize behind the jeep.

“Stiles” Scott yelled as he threw him his keys, “You need to get inside. Get behind the mountain ash, we will be right behind you when Chris and Derek get here.”

Back to back Kira and Scott face off and start fighting the Oni to prevent them from entering the animal clinic and killing Stiles. Kira is surprised when she seems to have an innate ability to fight and Scott is entranced watching her flip around getting the upper hand on two of the Oni.

Distracted as he was he didn’t notice when the Oni moved in front of him and stabbed its katana right through his middle.

Stiles heard Kira scream for Scott and he ran outside and he helped Kira carry Scott into the clinic examination room.

Kira leaned Scott against the exam table and she reached for the sword, she got a good grip on the hilt and she was about to start pulling it out when Stiles leaned over and grabbed her wrist with a stronger than human grip. She looked up in surprise only for Stiles to spin her around and he slammed her head into the edge of the examination table.

Scott looked up in shock when he realized his friend was back to being possessed by the Nogitsune, that is if he ever was actually Stiles.

Stiles slowly approached Scott with his head tilted, he ran his hand down the handle of the sword, tapping it with his fingers to add vibration down the shaft. He enjoyed watching the little flinches of pain over the alphas face.

Scott whimpered when he saw Stiles grip the hilt, he begged, “Please, don’t…”

Stiles tried to reassure him with a quiet, “Ok?” 

He got a firm grip on the hilt, grasped Scott’s shoulder and with a deft movement he twisted the sword left then right a few times, he reveled in the pain and betrayal showing on Scott’s face.

While Scott was moaning and gasping in pain Stiles demanded, “Hey, look at me.” When Scott looked up he admonished in a sing-song voice, “You really should have done your reading Scott. See, a Nogitsune feeds off chaos, strife, and pain. This morning, you took it from Isaac, then you took it from Coach, and then from a dying deputy. All that pain... You took it all.”

He palmed the side of Scott’s face in a mockery of a caress and he said softly, “… Now, give it to me!”

He started to absorb all the pain Scott had been absorbing over the day, a little voice in the back of his head started to whisper, ‘that’s it. Take out the sword, create more pain. That's it. Take it all, take all he has, keep going, don’t stop now, there is plenty more where that came from. ’

Scott could see black lines snaking up Stiles' arm and by the look of utter bliss on Stiles’ face that the Nogitsune was seriously enjoying all the pain. He wanted to move away especially after the sword was ripped out painfully but he was frozen in place.

After five minutes of Stiles being blissed out he started to chuckle, he said, “You really have to learn, Scott. You really have to learn not to trust a Fox. Mmm-mmm. Know why? 'Cause they're tricksters. They'll fool you. They'll fool everyone.”

Deaton moved in behind Stiles flanked by Derek and Chris. Derek and Chris moved to hold Stiles in place while Deaton answered Stiles with a dramatic, “Not everyone.” As he moved in and injected Stiles with a sickly green substance.

Scott leaned forward taking deep breaths glad he could move again, he gasped out, “What was that? Was that a cure? Is he ok?”

Deaton looked down at Stiles' unconscious form on the floor and he said, “The Fox is poisoned… But, it’s not dead. Not yet. He should wake in a few minutes and then we can start investigating ways to kill the Nogitsune but not the host.”

Derek snarled, “Stiles. It’s not the host, it’s Stiles.”

Chris asked, “So this will suppress the fox? Bring Stiles back for a while?”

Deaton shook his head, “No, it just poisons the fox, restricts some of its abilities to fight.”

Derek sat and pulled Stiles' head into his lap, slowly stroking his hair back from his face. He asked, “I thought you said he would wake up in a few minutes, it’s already been fifteen.”

Deaton and Chris crouched down and took a close look at Stiles' face, they could see the signs of REM sleep. Deaton made a noise of distress, he gestured towards Stiles’ eyes and he said, “That… shouldn’t be happening.”

Derek frowned and he asked, “REM sleep?”

Deaton nods, “The fluid I injected, Letharia Vulpina or Wolf Lichen knocks out the fox as the poison starts to spread. When a mammal is knocked out there is no REM sleep or any dreaming at all as the brain can’t speak to other parts of itself to form the brainwave activity it takes to dream.”

Chris asked, “Could it be Stiles is fighting? By knocking out the fox it gives Stiles a chance to fight the possession?”

Deaton shrugged, he seemed reluctant to answer.

Derek looked at Chris who nodded before he stood and picked Stiles up of the floor. He stated, “I am taking him somewhere safe and we will make a plan from there.”

Scott demanded, “Why are you taking him? He’s my best friend.”

Derek snarled, “What? Are you ten? I am taking him because he trusts me to keep him safe and it’s common knowledge that Stiles doesn’t trust Deaton. Chris has agreed to help me research how to free Stiles from the possession. Out of all of us, he is the only one that has dealt with a nogitsune before. You are all welcome to follow us.”

As they walked out to the Camaro Chris said, “We can take him to my apartment, I need some supplies to help us keep him restrained while we figure out how to free him and it’s easier to defend than the loft.”

When they arrived at the apartment with Scott, Kira, and Deaton on their heels Derek placed Stiles sitting up on the sofa. Chris moved forward and he held a vial in his hand, he said, “Open his mouth.”

Derek moved forward and opened Stiles' mouth and Chris squeezed a dropper full of clear fluid into his mouth. They moved back in a hurry as Stiles started twitching.

Stiles opened his eyes and he tried to move his hands but found them numb and unresponsive, he looked at Chris with a cold look in his eyes and he said, “Kanima venom… nice touch.”

Stiles looked up at Derek with a dark glint in his eye and said lowly, “You know he loves you right? He is head over heels in love with you. It must burn that he doesn’t trust you enough to ever tell you. That the only thing he trusts is that you will reject him before you walk away. He trusts that you will walk away and never look back.”

Derek sneered at Stiles and he said, “This isn’t you Stiles.”

Stiles smirked and he said in a sing-song voice, “It is now.”

Derek looked at Chris and he said, “You paralyzed the body, you got anything for his mouth?”

Chris walked over with a roll of duct tape and he tore a strip off as he said, “Yes, I do.”

Five minutes later Derek dropped his phone on the coffee table, he snarled, “I still can’t get hold of the sheriff, Parrish said he is with McCall in the impeachment hearing. Where are we at with the research?”

Chris held up the Shugendo Scroll, he said, “From what we can decipher from the scroll we have to change the body.”

Scott asked, “So how do we change the body?”

Deaton suggested, “The bite would do it. You can’t be both a fox and a wolf.”

Scott asked, “But what if he doesn’t want it? He never asked to be a werewolf.”

Chris said, “What if it saves his life?”

Scott implored, “What if it kills him? I’ve never done this before. I mean, what if I bite him and accidentally hit an artery or something?”

Derek said, “I would talk you through it, but honestly, there has to be a reason Stiles has never asked for the bite. I want to call Peter, see what he knows, he and Stiles do all our research.”

Scott nodded jerkily. He didn’t like the idea of bringing Peter in but he knew Stiles trusted Peter more than Deaton.

Derek moved into the kitchen to make his call to give him the idea of privacy.

Peter answered, “Nephew?”

Derek replied with no preamble, “I need your help with Stiles.”

Peter asked, “What’s going on?”

Derek sighed, “We have Stiles here, currently paralyzed by kanima venom. We are trying to find a way to kill the nogitsune without killing Stiles. We have the Shugendo Scroll and it says to change the body. They are talking about giving Stiles the bite.”

Peter snapped, “No! Whatever you do, McCall can’t bite Stiles.”

Derek asked, “Why? I know when it was being discussed Stiles had fear on his face but I thought that was just the nogitsune knowing we knew how to kill it.”

Peter demanded, “I’m coming to you, where are you?”

Derek gave him the address to Chris’ apartment and hung up. He knew if Peter was at the loft he would only be about ten minutes away.

He took the time to settle himself by grabbing a glass of water and drinking it slowly. He wasn’t sure if he could believe what the nogitsune was saying earlier, the taunts about Stiles not being brave enough to tell him how he felt didn’t seem right. As far as Derek was concerned, Stiles was the strongest person he knew. Brave enough to stand up to alpha wolves with nothing more than a baseball bat if it gave his pack a chance to escape. Strong enough to lie convincingly to his father for nearly a year to protect him. Even now while possessed by the nogitsune Stiles was strong enough to break through and force the nogitsune to leave clues for the pack to try and mitigate the damage from the nogitsune’s brand of chaos.

He walked out to the hall and he let Peter into the apartment when he heard Peter approaching.

Peter walked in and he briefly gripped his nephew's neck, scent-marking him and offering support. He walked into the living room where Stiles was still paralyzed on the sofa, he walked around him and inspected him from every angle.

Stiles snarked, “Ever the creeper.”

Peter looked around at the group gathered in the room and he said, “He doesn't look like he would survive a slap across the face, much less the bite of a Werewolf. Which really is beside the point, he wouldn’t survive the bite.”

Scott frowned and he asked, “What? How do you know that?”

Peter shrugged and said airily, “I offered, he said no.”

Derek slammed Peter against the wall with his claws to Peter’s throat and he snarled, “Explain. Now.”

Peter held his hands up and he nodded slightly, when Derek had let him down he explained, “When I was an alpha I realized you were missing, Kate had you and she had released scent bombs or something like it around town so I couldn’t sniff you out. The night of the prom I bit Lydia as you know but what you don’t know is that Stiles challenged me, he offered himself in Lydia’s place. I knew from watching Scott that he was smart so I agreed and I hoped that he could help me find you. After he gave me a lead to your location I offered him the bite, I almost had my teeth in his wrist when he ripped his arm out of my grip and he told me ‘I don’t wanna be like you.’ I told him then he was lying, that I heard his heart skip over the words I don’t want. He stood firm so I left and later that night he helped Derek kill me.”

Scott demanded, “So, that doesn’t mean he can’t take the bite, that just means that he knows better than to accept it from a complete psycho.”

Peter rolled his eyes and he said, “I asked him about it during one of our research sessions. He told him his mother made him promise to never let anyone bite him. No matter what. That bites would be more toxic to him. He said when she made him promise. He didn’t understand since he was all of eight years old, but he knew once he understood the supernatural world that if he took the bite he wouldn’t survive it.”

Chris looked at Deaton and he asked, “Did you know this?”

Peter glared at him and he said, “Yes, Deaton is fully aware of what Stiles is even if he will never admit it out loud. He is also aware that Stiles would not survive the bite because Talia offered the bite to Claudia when she was sick but Claudia turned her down saying her kind don’t survive the bite.”

He looked around at the disbelieving looks on everyone's faces, “Honestly, when are you people going to trust me.”

Derek ignored his uncle's dramatics and he asked, “If mom knew Stiles’ mom why didn’t we ever meet Stiles?”

Peter grinned, “Self-preservation. She had always planned to bring little Mischief into the pack when he was older. Stiles has an eidetic memory and from the time he could talk he was smart enough to pick up clues and put two and two together. That's why he’s so good at research. He would have had us all figured out within two days, hell when I bit Scott he had it figured out within hours. As close as they were growing up he would have told his best friend,” He glanced at Scott, “Who at the time was well known for not being able to keep secrets. Talia always planned to bring him in on the secret once he turned sixteen and invite him to join the pack.”

Derek asked, “Do you know what he is? I always thought he was human.”

Chris smirked, “I am pretty sure Stiles doesn't know and that Deaton here wants it to stay that way.”

Scott glanced around the room at all the angry faces before he looked at Deaton and he said quietly, “Doc, I think I have to agree with everyone else here, you need to go. We will take care of this.”

Scott watched Deaton leave then he looked at Peter and he asked, “So… what now?”

Peter looked at Stiles who was watching him with a fixated intensity and he asked, “How did you subdue him?”

Derek explained, “We snuck in while the nogitsune was distracted when it seemed to be getting off on pulling pain from Scott,” He stopped to shudder at the mental image of the nogitsune enjoying the pain and suffering, “We, myself and Chris restrained him while pulling him off Scott so Deaton could inject him with a green fluid. A lichen I think he said.”

Kira interrupted, “Letharia Vulpina otherwise known as Wolf Lichen. I have heard my mother talking about it recently.”

Peter moved to his laptop and he pulled up the research files he and Stiles had been slowly compiling. He read through a few of the documents before he nodded happily, “Ok, that’s good, very good actually.” He stood and he took a close look at Stiles, when he was happy with what he saw he stood and he said, “This is now more a war of the mind than the body.”

Derek asked, “So… Do you have a plan?”

Peter moved to stand beside Scott and he faced the others in the room, he explained, “Scott is going to try and dig through pale and sickly Evil-Stiles' mind to unearth pale and sickly Real-Stiles... Then, guide him back from the depths of his own subconscious.”

Scott looked up and he asked, “How?”

Peter grabbed Scott’s wrist and he flicked but he looked confused when nothing happened, as did Derek. 

Derek asked quietly, “Scott, where are your claws?”

Scott looked down at his hands but no matter how hard he tried his claws wouldn’t come out. He also tried to wolf out but nothing happened. He looked up panicked and he whispered, “I can’t feel my wolf.”

Peter saw a grin on Stiles’ face out the corner of his eye with Scott's whispered statement but he held off from saying anything. He flicked out a claw and he asked, “May I try something?”

Scott nodded and he held out his arm, Peter dragged his claw down Scott’s arm leaving an inch long slice in his arm that was showing no signs of healing.

Peter commented, “Well. That's unexpected.” He looked at Chris and he said, “Do you have any mountain ash? That would be a true test.”

Chris moved and with the mountain ash he had in his pocket he dropped a circle around Peter and Scott he reassured, “Don’t worry, Peter you are just to test that the circle is working, I promise I will let you out.”

Peter nodded, he was not happy to be trapped but he trusted Chris. He moved forward and he pushed against the barrier watching as it lit up a bright blue where he was touching it.

He then gestured to Scott who was able to step out of then back into the circle. Scott then leaned down and brushed away the ash to break the circle.

Scott murmured almost to himself, “He stole my wolf.”

Derek snorted, “A wolf you never wanted. A wolf you resisted so much you couldn’t tell it was missing.”

Scott yelled, “That’s not the point, he stole my wolf.” 

Kira moved and pulled Scott into a hug. She whispered, “Wolf or human, you’re still mine.”

Peter moved to crouch in front of Stiles and he looked in his eyes, tilted his head in question then he asked, “Are you fighting?”

He smiled when he saw the slow blink but he moved back when he saw the evil glint in the Nogitsune’s eyes as it snarled and screamed behind the duct tape. 

Peter stood and he dragged Derek into the kitchen. He whispered quietly into Derek’s ear, “You are his anchor, you have been for a long time. You need to push him to fight, give him something to fight for.”

Derek murmured just as quietly, “How?”

Peter smirked and he whispered back, “How does any wolf call to his mate? You Roar.”

They moved back to the living room as one, Derek knelt down in front of Stiles, he gripped both of Stiles' hands firmly in his own, and he yelled, “Fight Stiles, you know what you need to do. Hold on to your anchor and fight. Prove to yourself that you are the strongest bravest person I know.” 

When he saw the Nogitsune was still staring at him from behind Stiles’ eyes he took a deep breath, he shifted to his beta shape and he let loose the loudest and longest roar he could. Putting all his love and longing for Stiles into that roar trying to call his mate back to him.

When he saw Stiles was starting to fight Peter stood beside Derek and he added his own roar to the mix calling back a lost pack member.

Chris, Kira, and Scott looked around worried about how many noise complaints they would get from the neighboring apartments. Chris moved to the door when he heard banging on the apartment door. He was surprised when he saw the Sheriff on the other side. He gestured the man inside and he took him through to the living room.

Chris saw the Sheriff was about to run to Stiles and he held him back. He said, “Wait.”

Noah asked, “Why are they roaring at my son?”

Chris smiled, “Pack. They are giving Stiles a reason to fight the fox.”

Chris saw Stiles starting to twitch and he yelled, “Move!”

Everyone moved back out of reach of Stiles as he suddenly stood and started to gag. He fell to his knees as he started to pull bandages from his mouth accompanied by a smokey black substance, more than what should have been physically possible for a human stomach to contain. He didn’t stop until there was a pile of bandages the size of a large rug on the floor. 

Once he had stopped gagging on the taste leftover in his mouth Noah and Derek moved in to help him back to the sofa, Derek pulling him to sit on his lap, wrapping him up in his arms to give him comfort and warmth.

They all watched transfixed as the pile of bandages started to move and they could see a bandaged wrapped hand climbing out of the middle. Kira unsheathed her katana and Chris and Noah both unholstered their weapons. 

Stiles stammered out, “Wait, just wait.”

They held back and waited while a figure started to climb out of the bandages.

Stiles stood shakily then he crouched down in front of the figure as it seemed to tense, Stiles looked at it in disgust and he smirked as he said quietly, “You more than anyone else should know better than to try to trick a trickster.” 

Stiles stood tall and proud and he flashed his new red alpha eyes and he said coldly, “You can’t be both a fox and a wolf.” 

He turned to Kira and held his arm out and he asked, “May I?”

She passed over her katana in the traditional style and Stiles received it perfectly, they all watched stunned as Stiles was able to use the katana like he had been born to it as he removed the head of the figure before it could completely climb out of the pile of bandages.

Stiles moved back with the katana at the ready and he watched as the figure started to crack at the edges before it and the pile of bandages all crumbled into dust. 

Derek moved behind Stiles ready to catch him as he started to relax. Stiles handed Kira back the katana with a bow of thanks.

Scott moved to stand in front of Stiles and he said, “I want my wolf back.”

Stiles chuckled and he asked, “Why? You spent the last year bitching and complaining about your wolf that it’s the worst thing that ever happened to you.”

Scott frowned and he said, “You stole it? You didn't even check that I was ok with it.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and he muttered, “Irrational much.” Louder he said, “Look, I didn’t get much of a choice, the nogitsune was planning so so much more. What happened today would have looked like childs play compared to the chaos and strife it planned to pull off while wearing my face. Including torturing me by killing off everyone I loved or cared about.”

Stiles started to drop to the floor but Derek caught him and moved them back to the sofa, Noah was about to argue about Stiles being in Derek’s lap until he saw the tension leave Stiles’ shoulders. 

Stiles looked at Peter and Chris, he said, “You guys need to check on the rest of the pack, that crazy asshole released flies designed to possess people. I am pretty sure he got to the twins and Isaac. There is a drink I can make up that will kill the fly without harm to the person.”

Scott asked with narrowed eyes, “You seem to know a lot about its actions, how do we know it’s truly dead?”

Stiles rolled his eyes and he looked at Kira, he asked, “Can you ask your mom to join us? Her Oni should be able to confirm it.”

Noah looked at Scott and he demanded, “Call your mom here too. I want him checked out medically. Who knows what that bastard has been doing while it was wearing Stiles like a fancy meat suit.”

Stiles chuckled, “Dad, I’m fine. I am just exhausted and a bit cold. I feel like I have been fighting for weeks.”

Peter and Chris entered the living room. Peter said, “The twins are on their way. Allison and Lydia are picking up Isaac from the hospital and then they are heading here.”

Stiles muttered, “Imma gonna nap for a bit while we wait.” He then sunk into Derek’s chest and went to sleep wrapped in Derek’s arms.

While Stiles was asleep Noah went to the apartments who had made noise complaints and he explained that the alarm system was set off accidentally and it had been disabled. Melissa was also able to give him a cursory medical check declaring him exhausted but fine.

Stiles woke fully when Noshiko arrived. She was the last to arrive. 

Stiles asked, “Will they test me?”

Noshiko nodded, she looked down at the pile of dust on the floor. She said, “They can test that too.”

Stiles nodded and he moved forward out of reach of Derek and the rest of his pack.

Three Oni materialized behind Noshiko. One moved to test the dust on the floor and the other moved to grasp Stiles' head with its fingers resting just behind his ear and it started to perform the test on him. The Oni moved back as Stiles started to drop to the floor, Derek caught him as he fell. 

The three Oni looked to Noshiko and they bowed formally before they faded away. 

She looked at Noah and she said, “Check behind his ear.”

Noah moved and checked behind Stiles’ ear and he found the mark the Oni left when a person passed the test. The Japanese Kanji signifying ‘self’ He turned to her and he nodded.

Noshiko smiled, “It’s done.” She seemed to relax. She looked at Stiles and she said, “Thank you. I would suggest making sure you add whatever you did to your research on the nogitsune so others may have a chance of survival.”

Stiles nodded and he settled back into Derek’s lap. He was really enjoying the warmth radiating from his favorite werewolf.

Noshiko took her leave after a whispered conversation with Kira. 

Stiles sat up and looked around at the pack. He flashed his eyes and he smirked at Derek and he said, “I’m the alpha now.” 

Derek mock snarled and snapped playfully at him. Stiles chuckled and he said, “Admittedly the change in leadership was not entirely a willing one but it can’t be undone. Not entirely anyway. I will leave it up to you if you wish to remain in the pack now I am in charge.” 

Derek spun Stiles slightly on his lap and he bared his neck to Stiles, Stiles leaned forward and he bit down until he drew blood, he gasped as he felt the pack bond snap into place. Derek leaned forward and he whispered, “You’re my Alpha now.”

Stiles turned to face the rest of the pack, he said, “I want you all to think about it while I spend the next few days asleep. I mean it when I say I am exhausted, I have been fighting that bastard for weeks. I will call a pack meeting when I am feeling more myself and you can let me know your decisions then. Ok?”

They all nodded and filed out, ready to head home and sleep after the epic few days they had been having.

Stiles called out, “Scotty,” When he saw Scott turn he said, “Can you come over tomorrow?”

Scott just nodded silently before he turned to follow his mother and Kira out of the apartment.

Stiles looked up and saw his dad talking quietly with Chris and Peter, he thought to himself they looked like this was something they did often, with little touches here and there. He looked up at Derek and he saw the same knowing look he mouthed ‘how long’. Derek shrugged and he shook his head. Stiles sighed and he murmured, “Can you stay with me? I think being with pack, being with you, will help keep the nightmares at bay and let me get some real sleep.”

Derek glanced up at the Sheriff and he asked, “Just sleep?”

Stiles nodded, “I won’t push, I know he said I wasn’t brave enough to tell you but that wasn’t it at all.”

Derek asked quietly, “You were letting me make the first move?”

Stiles smiled softly and he nodded, he reached up and cupped Derek's cheek and he said, “I know what you went through with Kate and then Jennifer, I didn’t want to add to it.”

Derek leaned in and gave him a chaste but lingering kiss. He murmured, “Consider me moved, but nothing will happen until you are 18.”

Stiles nodded and he closed his eyes about to doze off again.

Noah crouched down in front of them. “Son, how about you take him to the loft, you and Peter can both keep an eye on him while he sleeps. I need to sort the mess that bastard left behind at the station. Chris is going to help me keep Stiles out of it.”

Derek looked up shocked when he realized the sheriff was calling him Son.

Stiles whispered, “Talk to Danny, he knows more than he lets on and he knows his way around the systems better than anyone other than me.”

Noah nodded, “Rest up kiddo. Let me know when the pack meeting is. Ok?”

Stiles nodded and lost his battle with sleep.

-x-

After a solid fourteen hours of sleep, Stiles sent off a text to Scott asking him to meet at the loft when he was ready.

Scott turned up half an hour later with Kira in tow. 

Stiles was pleased to see Kira sticking with Scott now that he was 100% human again.

Scott sat down and without preamble, he demanded, “Why me? Why take my wolf?”

Stiles leaned forward and he said, “Scott. You never wanted the bite, even as recently as last week you threw it in Peter’s face that he bit you without your consent and how you never wanted it and he ruined your life. As for why you. Derek, Peter, Ethan, and Aiden are all born wolves so what I did could only be done with either you or Isaac. Isaac loves his wolf, he asked for the bite, and its a big part of who he is now. You were so disconnected from your wolf you didn’t even realize I had taken it.”

Scott nodded accepting that Stiles was right, he asked, “So what now?”

Stiles raised his eyebrows and he said, “Well, that’s up to you. You are welcome to stay in the pack, I will never take that away from you, nor will I force you to stay.”

Scott nodded slowly, Stiles then looked at him seriously, “I did what I could to make sure that losing your wolf didn’t bring back your asthma but that was 100% guesswork so I am not sure if it worked or not. Either way, I would like to offer that if you ever want the bite the offer is there.” He held up his hand when Scott started to speak, “It doesn’t have to be now, or ever, it’s entirely up to you. But. There are conditions. The main one being its 150% your choice. If you take the bite you can’t complain about it or hold it against Peter for bringing you into this world.”

He looked at Derek and he shrugged, “Honestly, if Peter hadn’t bit you we would have ended up in this world eventually anyway. I would have dragged you in once my abilities started to surface. My abilities need to be bound to a pack so I can control them.”

Kira asked, “What are you? Did Deaton know?”

Stiles snarled, “I'm a magic-user called a Spark, we are quite rare. He knew, he was trying to suppress my Spark. I think that's why he allowed the nogitsune to escape when he pushed us to sacrifice ourselves to the Nemeton.”

Scott growled, an impressive growl for a human. He said, “We should tell Chris so he can report him to the druid council.”

Stiles shook his head, “Chris and Dad paid him a visit this morning. He’s already cleared out. He will know better than to return to this territory. Sorry Scotty, I know he was a father figure for you.”

Scott shook his head, he said, “He may have been a father figure but he was cryptic and he withheld information far too many times for me to be comfortable. You are my brother and he was trying to harm you. That’s not ok in my book. Good riddance to bad druids.”

Stiles stood and pulled Scott into a tight hug. Scott started to squeak and Derek laughed as he said, “Ease up Stiles, he’s a squishy human remember.”

Kira moved in with Derek and they joined the group hug. 

Stiles stood back and he said, “I am setting up the full pack meeting tomorrow for explanations. I think Lydia will explode my phone if I leave it for much longer. Will you be there?”

Scott chuckled, “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away. As for the bite, I am going to give the human thing a go for a while. It’s nice not feeling responsible for everyone's safety.”

Stiles nodded, he squeezed Scott’s shoulder and he said quietly, “If you change your mind you only have to ask. Make sure you get an inhaler just to be on the safe side, ok?”

Scott nodded, he said, “I have an appointment with my doctor to get a checkup and to get a prescription. Mom suggested it so I don’t get caught out if my asthma does come back.”

Stiles yawned, he commented, “You would think after sleeping for fourteen hours straight I would be wide awake by now.”

Scott and Kira looked at each other and they stood as one. Kira commented, “If you have been fighting for weeks you will likely have a lot of sleep to catch up on. We are going to leave you both to it. See you tomorrow, just text us and let us know what time.”

After they left Derek stood and moved into the kitchen, he made up a pile of sandwiches loaded with cold cut meats and vegetables before he brought them back to the living room. He gestured to the plate and he said, “Eat up, you need to regain your strength. Once you are done you can go back to bed for a while.”

Stiles looked up, a worried look on his face, “You will join me right?”

Derek nodded, he reassured, “Yep, I just need to make the phone calls to arrange the pack meeting for tomorrow. I am also going to ask Peter and Chris to pick up food for the meeting since everyone eats like wolves.”

Stiles smirked, “Sourwolf’s got jokes.” He grew serious and he asked, “Can you make sure Danny is invited too?”

Derek nodded, he pointed at the plate of sandwiches and he demanded, “Eat then go get some more sleep, I will join you soon.”

-x-

Noah was the first to arrive for the pack meeting. He made a beeline for Stiles who was looking more awake than the last time he saw him. He asked, “How are you feeling, kiddo?”

Stiles smiled a lopsided smile, “Better. I don’t think I have ever slept this much. Being around pack is helping though.”

Noah glanced at Derek before he asked, “Your pack or your mate?”

Stiles blushed, he grumped, “Why do you have to be so smart? Fine, being around my mate has helped. But I meant what I said, I won’t push and nothing will happen until I am 18 beyond making out.”

Noah looked at Derek and he said, “You hold him to that, he’s a pushy little bugger when he wants something.”

Derek smirked and he nodded, “We had a good talk between naps and we set some firm boundaries. There will be no pushing until both of us are sure we are ready.”

Stiles interjected, “Now that the awkward talk is done can we change the subject. Please.”

Noah laughed, “Sure kid. Chris and Peter are on their way with food. I think Chris is trying to balance Peter’s snobby appetite.”

Stiles was about to reply but the door to the loft slid open and the rest of the pack started piling in. 

Peter and Chris set out snacks on the coffee table and everyone tucked in.

Stiles stood and he said, “Right, you guys have had two days to think up questions so have at it.”

He looked at Lydia who smirked, she asked, “Everything we read said you would need the bite to change. But you weren’t bitten.”

Stiles shook his head, “No, I wasn’t. I knew that if I was bitten even while possessed it would kill me. Sparks can’t be bitten, the magic of the bite kills the spark before it can accept it.”

Lydia asked, “So how are you a wolf?”

Stiles shrugged, “Honestly, I am not 100% sure. I think because my spark was already fighting the fox 24/7 since I was possessed, a battle I was slowly losing, when I convinced the nogitsune to absorb Scott's wolf the spark directed the wolf to help it fight the fox. By the time they were done the spark and the wolf had merged into one entity.”

Noah frowned and he asked, “So you still have your magic?”

Stiles held his hand out to the table and he pulled a couple of peanut butter cups to his hand.

Isaac asked, “So you have been training your magic for a while? How? Was Deaton helping you?”

Stiles shuddered, he explained, “Peter has been helping me train and Derek has been helping run interference so it stayed a secret. Sorry, but if Deaton had found out I was training my spark he would have doubled his efforts to kill me. He was already pushing it by trying to get Scott to bite me while I was incapacitated.”

Chris asked, “You left clues, almost like loopholes in the nogitsune’s traps. How?”

Stiles sat back down on the sofa and he snuggled into Derek, he said, “Fluke mostly. I couldn’t fight the possession with words or my trusty bat so I went for the best self-defense I could. While I was possessed the nogitsune had access to my memories, my knowledge, but what he didn’t realize was that I had access to his. Including all of his magical knowledge from before he went dark side. I was able to use that knowledge to hide away memories that would help him leave the traps. I was also able to whisper in his ear so to speak to direct actions while he was in control. I couldn’t do anything too big or he would realize what I was up to, but enough to do things like make sure Jared was on the bus with a fake bomb to clear out most of the deputies and my dad from the station so his bomb in Dad's office wouldn’t kill as many people.” He looked grief-stricken for a moment as he murmured, "I did what I could but I couldn't save everyone."

Scott asked, “That's why he took my wolf? I wondered about that since he had to know it would kill him.”

Stiles smirked, “Oh that was fun. He really was just after your pain, I was able to alter the magic he was using so it would pull your wolf and I pushed him to keep going and going until he had absorbed your wolf without him realizing. I used my spark to hide it behind a barrier of sorts so it could help me attack the fox. It’s hard to explain, a lot of it is just innate, either my innate magic or the magic I learned from him.” 

When no one seemed to have a follow-up question Stiles asked, “So is there anyone who wants out now that I am the alpha?”

Ethan asked nervously as he gripped Danny’s hand, “You will accept us?”

Stiles smiled, “Dude, you have had so many chances to throw us all under the bus and yet you stuck by us and helped me when I was vulnerable. If you want to stay you are welcome to stay. Plus I think Danny and Lydia would kick my arse if I said no.”

They both nodded with wicked grins on their face.

Stiles went through the process with each member of the pack, accepting them all into the pack bond, even Allison and Chris both agreed to join the pack as full members instead of pack adjacent as they had been.

As they all leaned back enjoying the meal chatting amongst themselves Noah commented, “I think that while Deaton may have set you up to die, he honestly didn’t realize just what he was letting himself in for. I am also pretty sure that if you plan to hunt him down, if you do I don’t want to know.” He looked at Peter when he said this. By now the whole pack had quietened to listen, Noah continued, “There was a reason we called you Mischief growing up. You were a born trickster, cunning as a snake and smart as a whip. You wore masks so no one ever saw more of you than you wanted them too. Stiles, you absolutely proved that you can’t trick a trickster.”


End file.
